UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA     AGRICULTURAL   EXPERIMENT  STATION 
COLLEGE   OF  AGRICULTURE  BENJ    '°E  WHEELER'  »»»««•* 

THOMAS    FORSYTH    HUNT,    Dean  an d  Director 

BERKELEY  h.  e.  van  norman,  vice-director  and  dean 

University  Farm  School 

CIRCULAR  No.  186 
November,  1917 

POULTRY  ON  THE  FARM 

By  J.  E.  DOUGHERTY 


The  best  place  to  raise  more  poultry  and  eggs  at  least  cost  is  on 
the  farm  where  the  feed,  to  a  large  extent,  is  grown.  Poultry  will 
pick  up  from  the  fields  and  around  the  barns  a  large  amount  of  feed 
that  would  otherwise  be  wasted  and  will  turn  this  feed  into  eggs  and 
poidtry  meat. 

How  many  fowls  a  farmer  should  keep  will  be  governed  by  the 
size  of  his  farm  and  the  percentage  of  the  total  ration  that  the  farm 
can  supply,  as  well  as  his  personal  attitude  toward  chickens.  A  lay- 
ing fowl  will  consume  approximately  75  pounds  of  grain  and  mash 
per  year,  nearly  all  of  which  can  be  grown  on  the  farm,  as  is  clearly 
shown  in  the  following  simple,  yet  well-balanced  laying  ration 
designed  to  meet  the  present  war  conditions : 

Grain  Mixture  Dry  Mash  Mixture 

15  lbs.  whole  barley  5  lbs.  ground    barley 

15  lbs.  whole  milo  5  lbs.  wheat  bran 

5  lbs.  wheat  shorts 

2  lbs.  soy  bean  or  linseed  meal 

3  lbs.  meatscrap    or    fishscrap 
Vi   lb.  granulated  charcoal 


in 


lb.  sifted  dairy  salt 


Feterita,  Egyptian  corn,  Indian  corn,  etc.  may  be  substituted  for 
all  or  a  part  of  the  milo  in  the  grain  formula  and  plump  oats  for 
the  barley.  Where  sour  skim  milk  or  buttermilk  can  be  kept  before 
the  fowls  in  drinking  vessels  so  that  they  consume  from  35  to  40 
pounds  of  milk  per  100  fowls  per  day,  investigations  conducted  at 
the  California  Experiment  Station  indicate  that  no  meatscrap,  fish- 
scrap,  soybean  meal,  linseed  meal,  etc.,  need  be  fed  in  the  mash,  as 
the  milk  will  take  the  place  of  other  high-protein  feeds.1  Milk  is  one 
of  the  very  best  animal  feeds  that  can  be  fed  to  poultry  and  both  the 
small  and  large  dairyman  may  well  consider  the  use  of  poultry  as  a 
most  profitable  means  of  utilizing  such  dairy  byproducts  as  skim 
milk,  buttermilk,  whey,  etc. 

i  Eeport  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  and  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
of  University  of  California  for  year  ending  June  30,  1915,  p.  38. 


A  flock  of  farm  fowls  should  be  able  to  pick  up  a  portion  of  their 
feed  in  the  fields  and  corrals  so  that  the  farmer  would  only  have  to 
furnish  that  portion  of  the  total  feed  required,  which  the  fowls  could 
not  secure  for  themselves  on  range.  If  a  ration  proportioned  simi- 
larly to  the  one  given  above  were  used,  in  which  3/5  lb.  grain  is  fed, 
with  2/5  lb.  mash  to  supply  the  fowls  with  a  balanced  egg-making 
diet,  and  if  the  farm  grew  all  the  barley  and  milo  needed,  then  all 
the  grain  plus  5/20  of  the  mash,  or  a  total  of  14/20  or  7/10  of  the 
feed  consumed  by  the  fowls,  could  be  grown  on  the  farm.  If  wheat 
were  raised  and  the  shrunken  wheat,  wheat  screenings  and  wheat 
otherwise  unsuitable  for  milling  purposes  were  substituted  for  the  wheat 
bran  and  shorts  in  the  mash  given  above,  then  9/10  of  all  the  grain 
and  mash  fed  to  the  hens  would  be  grown  on  the  same  farm  with  the 
chickens.  It  is  evident,  then,  that  on  any  farm  growing  the  different 
grains  as  set  forth  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  the  farmer  could 
furnish  from  the  farm  7/10  to  9/10  of  the  feed  needed  by  his  fowls, 
over  and  above  that  "picked  up"  by  the  fowls  about  the  fields  and 
corrals.  If  plenty  of  milk  were  available,  all  the  feed  required  by 
the  fowls  could  be  supplied  from  the  farm.  Of  course,  the  wider 
the  range  allowed  the  fowls,  and  the  more  seeds,  grains,  insects, 
worms,  etc.,  they  could  harvest  for  themselves,  the  less  the  farmer 
would  have  to  feed  them  from  the  feed  bin. 

Nearly  every  farm  in  California  keeps  upwards  of  fifty  fowls 
at  the  least.  It  is  contended  by  many  that  such  a  small  number  of 
fowls  can  be  indifferently  cared  for  and  still  be  profitable  as  they 
should  be  able  to  pick  up  most  of  their  living  about  the  barns  and 
fields,  and  although  given  practically  no  care,  should  lay  fairly  well 
because  of  the  combined  advantages  of  small  numbers  and  free  range 
conditions.  These  fowls  are  kept  on  the  farm  primarily  with  the 
idea  of  supplying  the  family  larder  and  are  not  looked  upon  as  a 
money-making  part  of  the  farm  work — hence  the  lack  of  care.  They 
are  generally  plagued  with  vermin,  have  never  been  bred  or  culled 
for  egg  production,  are  kept  in  a  dirty,  close  or  draughty  and  vermin - 
infested  henhouse  and  not  given  even  half  a  chance  to  make  good. 
As  a  result,  they  lay  almost  entirely  in  the  spring  alone  and  not  very 
well  then;  the  larder  is  therefore  supplied  for  only  a  brief  part  of 
the  year.  The  net  profit  from  fowls  handled  in  such  a  negligent 
manner  as  compared  with  equal  numbers  of  well-cared-for  fowls 
should  bring  home  to  any  fair-minded  person  the  dollars-and-cents 
desirability  of  expending  the  time  and  care  required  to  make  the 
poultry  flock  produce  the  kind  of  returns  which  well-managed  flocks 
can  produce.  If  it  be  worth  while  to  breed  and  handle  other  livestock 
on  the  farm  for  increased  production,  why  not  poultry? 

Poultry  which  are  as  carefully  and  intelligently  looked  after  as 
the  dairy  herd,  hogs,  or  beef  cattle  are  fully  as  profitable,  if  not 
more  so  when  the  amount  of  otherwise  wasted  feed  they  pick  up  on 
range  is  considered,  per  dollar  invested  as  any  other  kind  of  livestock 
on  the  farm. 

The  following  statement  will  give  an  idea  of  the  approximate 
expense  and  income  from  a  farm  flock  of  300  hens. 


Summary  of  Expense  and  Income  from  300  Hens 

5%  interest  on  house  for  300  fowls  (w  $1.00 $  15.00 

5%  interest  on  300  fowls  @  $1.50 22.50 

20%  depreciation  on  300  fowls  minus  10%  mortality 81.00 

5%  depreciation   on  house 15.00 

10%  mortality  loss  (30  fowls  @  $1.50  each,  aver,  value  for  year)  45.00 

Cost  of  %  of  total  feed  consumption  of  75  lbs.  per  hen  year,  assuming 

fowls  will  pick  %  of  their  feed  in  fields,  @  2%c  lb 438.90 

8550  lbs.  straw,  allowing  30  lbs.  per  fowl  per  year,  (a)  $4  per  ton 17.10 

850  lbs.  grit  and  shell  @  80c  per  100  (fowls  allowed  %  shell  and  %  grit)  6.80 

Incidentals    (offset   by   manure)  35.60 

Total  expense  $676.90 

Expense   per    hen $  2.37 

11  doz.  eggs  per  hen  from  285  hens  (average)   @  36c  per  doz 1128.60 

14,250  lbs.  manure,  allowing  50  lbs.  per  fowl,  @  $5  ton 35.60 

Total   income    $1164.20 

Labor   income    (profit)  $487.30 

Labor   income   per  hen $1.70 

In  Tulare  County  is  an  outstanding  example  of  what  can  be  done 
with  poultry  on  the  farm.  The  Tulare  Co-operative  Poultry  Asso- 
ciation stands  as  a  monument  of  what  can  be  accomplished  with  the 
hen  on  the  farm  where  the  feed  is  largely  grown,  if  she  be  given  a 
fair  chance.  The  members  of  this  association  are  almost  entirety 
farmers,  each  with  from  20  to  100  or  more  acres,  and  poultry  is  but 
one  of  the  crops  each  farmer  raises.  None  of  them  are  primarily 
poultry  raisers,  yet  they  have  built  up  one  of  the  most  successful 
co-operative  poultry  associations  in  the  state.  The  secret  of  their 
success  is  that  all  of  them  raise  poultry  with  the  same  care  and  atten- 
tion to  detail  that  is  given  the  other  stock.  They  have  learned  that 
fowls,  like  anything  else,  pay  in  proportion  to  the  intelligent  care 
given  them  and  that  it  pays  good,  substantial  dividends  to  employ 
that  kind  of  care. 

In  March,  1917,  these  ranchers  delivered  to  their  association  from 
a  few  to  as  high  as  1495  dozen  eggs  each,  over  and  above  home  con- 
sumption. In  July,  1917,  623  dozen  eggs  was  the  largest  number 
delivered  by  any  one  rancher. 

Poultry  on  the  farm  should  be  given  free  range  over  the  fields 
as  far  as  possible  in  order  that  they  may  be  able  to  pick  up  as  much 
of  their  feed  as  they  can.  Small  yards  may  be  provided,  however, 
to  be  used  during  the  breeding  season  for  one  or  more  small  pens 
selected  early  in  the  spring  for  use  as  breeders  to  produce  the  spring 
chicks.  It  may  also  be  necessary  to  have  medium-sized  yards  attached 
to  the  hen  houses  so  that  all  the  fowls  can  be  penned  up  for  a  time 
when  it  is  desired  to  keep  them  out  of  certain  fields  or  orchard  plots, 
or  they  may  be  confined  to  the  henhouses  if  not  kept  shut  up  for 
more  than  two  or  three  days  at  a  time.  The  number  and  size  of 
yards,  if  any,  will  be  governed  by  specific  conditions  on  each  farm. 


A  well-designed  and  constructed  henhouse  should  be  built  in 
which  the  fowls  are  always  fed  all  of  the  feed  given  to  them  and  in 
which  they  are  made  to  roost  at  all  times.2  If  fowls  are  taught  to 
use  the  henhouse  from  the  very  first  by  shutting  them  up  in  it  for 
three  to  seven  days,  if  necessary,  when  first  put  in,  no  trouble  should 
be  experienced  with  their  roosting  in  the  trees  and  outbuildings.  Pro- 
viding good  clean  nests  in  the  henhouse  and  not  letting  the  fowls  out 
on  range  too  early  in  the  morning  till  they  get  thoroughly  used  to 
laying  in  these  nests,  will  result  in  practically  all  eggs  being  laid  in 
the  henhouse  and  in  very  few  stolen  nests.  A  dirty  henhouse,  full 
of  mites  and  other  vermin,  will  drive  hens  to  the  trees  to  roost  and 
the  fence  corners  to  lay.  A  hen  is  a  creature  of  habit.  Give  her 
a  comfortable  henhouse  and  accustom  her  to  use  it  and  she  will  do 
so  without  further  bother.  Such  a  henhouse  means  more  fresh-laid 
eggs  to  be  collected  daily,  as  fewer  nests  are  stolen,  and  it  means 
fewer  stolen  chickens  because  the  hens  can  be  locked  up  at  night. 

In  many  sections  of  the  state,  poultry  are  being  run  in  orchards. 
The  advantages  urged  in  favor  of  this  practice  are  (1)  that  the 
poultry  manure  is  valuable  as  a  fertilizer  for  the  trees  if  properly 
used;  (2)  that  poultry  are  a  welcome  source  of  income  during  the 
growing,  unproductive  period  of  the  young  orchard  and  the  poor 
crop  years  of  the  bearing  orchard,  in  addition  to  increasing  the  in- 
come at  other  times;  (3)  the  trees  furnish  much  needed  summer  shade 
to  the  fowls;  (4)  both  the  trees  and  the  fowls  can  use  the  same  land 
and  two  incomes  can  be  secured  per  acre. 

There  are  also  a  number  of  disadvantages  in  running  fowls  in 
orchards,  and  whether  the  advantages  will  outweigh  the  disadvan- 
tages in  any  specific  case  will  undoubtedly  depend  upon  the  kind  of 
orchard,  value  of  the  land,  soil  conditions  and  many  other  factors 
that  cannot  be  entered  into  in  a  brief  discussion  of  this  kind.  It  is 
simply  desired  to  point  out  that  orchards  do  offer  possibilities  for 
poultry  raising  and  many  growers  have  found  it  profitable  to  use 
their  orchards  in  this  way. 

POULTEY  MANUEE 

The  value  of  livestock  as  a  medium  for  marketing  much  of  the 
vegetable  products  grown  on  the  farm  so  as  to  secure  the  manurial 
by-product,  is  becoming  more  and  more  keenly  appreciated.  The 
general  rancher  growing  alfalfa,  grain,  etc.,  who  feeds  a  good  share 
of  these  products  to  livestock  and  then  markets  this  stock,  should  be 
able  not  only  to  secure  his  feed  at  a  lower  cost  than  if  it  were  to  be 
purchased  from  outside  sources,  with  additional  handling  and  trans- 
portation charges  included  in  the  price  paid,  but  the  manure  from 
the  stock  can  be  returned  to  the  land  to  replace  the  fertility  removed 
from  it  in  the  form  of  crops.  Poultry  produce  about  30  pounds  of 
roost  manure  and  perhaps  20  pounds  of  day  droppings  per  bird  per 
year.  Three  hundred  chickens  should  produce  about  41/2  tons  of 
night  droppings  and  3  tons  of  day  droppings  a  year. 

2  Plans  for  a  farm  poultry  laying  house  will  be  furnished  those  contemplating 
the  construction  of  such  a  building  upon  request  by  the  Poultry  Division. 


